Dear Lead At-Large Members: Below is a communication that Bob Schwartz shared with his circuit. I think it would be good to distribute this in all circuits. Enjoy your weekend! Brenda Dear Fellow Palm Beach County Members of the Real Property Probate & Trust Law Section: >From Melissa Murphy: “A new scam is out there in which fraudsters are impersonating existing title agencies by setting up a domain name, a website, and a bank account under names very similar to legitimate title agencies. They identify a property, impersonate the owner, and contact a real estate broker or agent to list the property for sale. A buyer is identified, and somehow the appearance of a legitimate closing takes place — enough to get the buyer to send money, in the form of a significant earnest money deposit, to the fake title agency acting as the escrow agent. At that point, the damage is done. I have been told that the fake title agency has even produced fake title commitments in order to continue the appearance of legitimacy. It is the Realtors who are being duped in this situation, so you should make sure your realtor partners are aware of this scam! I am trying to learn more about the prevalence of this fraud and how to combat it, so if you have heard of any instances, please pass them along.” *BE ADVISED & BE CAREFUL* As always, should you have any questions feel free to give me a call. Bob Schwartz, RPPTL Section Lead At Large Member for the 15th Judicial Circuit *Robert M. Schwartz, Esq., B.C.S.* *FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED REAL ESTATE LAWYER* ROBERT MARC SCHWARTZ, P.A. 4700 NW Boca Raton Blvd., Suite 104 Boca Raton, FL 33431-4860 Phone (561) 241-1850 Fax (561) 241-1845 Bob@RobertSchwartzPA.com Christine@RobertSchwartzPA.Com WWW.RobertSchwartzPA.Com <https://url.emailprotection.link/?bdaWz4IfyVnQFvJ3gNSryS5IRsAcHiok8GDwUCErImxG6xdfw7DE-vVCCaHoLgiZqmReYvEa6qdhrvzdGLJs59A~~> [image: Real Estate board certification logo, color] *When you want to be represented by a Florida Bar Board Certified Expert in Real Estate Law**.* *Due to the large number of Emails received each day, please phone me if I do not respond in a timely manner - please do not assume your Email has been received and/or opened. Thank you.* *Confidentiality Notice*:This message is being sent by or on behalf of a lawyer. It is intended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. This communication may contain information that is proprietary, privileged or confidential, or otherwise legally exempt from disclosure. If you are not the named addressee, you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy or disseminate this message or any part of it. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail and delete all copies of the message. *Notice: Please call to verbally verify any wire instructions to avoid the possibility of wire fraud. We do not use encrypted email. Do not put social security numbers or other sensitive information in emails.* THANK YOU!